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Montreal carries on its long love of chess
Since it was first played formally here in 1844 the game has attracted thousands of players
By JOSH RUBIN, The Gazette October 8, 2011
Many Montrealers don't know that our city has a long and colourful love affair with chess. The game has been played formally here since the Montreal Chess Club (MCC) formed in 1844. Since then, the city has hosted numerous tournaments, chess cafés, and famous players.
Perhaps the most important chess event hosted by Montreal was the final leg of the 1894 World Chess Championship, between Emmanuel Lasker and William Steinitz, in celebration of the MCC's 50th anniversary.
Steinitz had dominated chess for decades, yet by the time the two arrived in Montreal, the young Lasker was firmly in command. Lasker shocked the world when, on May 26, he was crowned the undisputed World Chess Champion, a position he would hold for the next 27 years.
While Lasker and Steinitz may have played the greatest match on Canadian soil, the legendary American chess player Frank Marshall was arguably the greatest chess mind ever produced in the country. Marshall moved to Montreal when he was 8 years old and would call the city his home for the next 11 years.
He took up chess soon after arriving, and before long was the top player at the Hope Coffee House, a chess hot spot at the time. He then joined the MCC, where he established himself as one of the best players in the world. He went on to become the U.S. Chess Champion and, in 1915, founded the Marshall Chess Club in New York City. It was at the Marshall Chess Club where Bobby Fischer played many of his early games, including what has become known as "The Game of the Century" in October 1956.
A few months earlier, a then 13-year-old Fischer arrived in Montreal to participate in the inaugural Canadian Open. Fischer would return to Montreal in 1964, where he demonstrated his skill by playing against 56 chess experts from across the province all at the same time.
Fischer won the World Chess Championship in 1972, which resulted in an increase of chess popularity across North America. The resulting Fischer boom reverberated across the entire city, especially among francophones.
"Chess hadn't been part of the French community before 1972. The editor of La Presse at the time was Roger Lemelin. He was a chess player and was in a unique position to do something about it. La Presse started to sponsor all kinds of chess tournaments," said Larry Bevand, founder and executive director of the Chess'n Math Association.
Founded in 1985, the Chess'n Math Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing chess into Canadian schools. The organization runs hundreds of tournaments for kids from kindergarten to Grade 12 across Canada. "Chess is more popular then ever, especially within the kid market because parents want their children to get away from the computer and use their heads," Bevand said.
Its headquarters at Sherbrooke and St. Denis Sts. is the only building in Canada owned entirely by a chess organization. Bevand attributes Montreal's relatively low cost of living as one reason why chess is so popular here.
"I think it's the (reason) why the arts are so popular in Montreal. Rents are low and people can survive on less money. It's much easier for us to find teachers in Montreal than Toronto or Ottawa because people don't need as much money to live so they can afford to pursue their interests rather than have to go out and make a decent living."
Montreal carries on its long love of chess
Since it was first played formally here in 1844 the game has attracted thousands of players
By JOSH RUBIN, The Gazette October 8, 2011
Many Montrealers don't know that our city has a long and colourful love affair with chess. The game has been played formally here since the Montreal Chess Club (MCC) formed in 1844. Since then, the city has hosted numerous tournaments, chess cafés, and famous players.
Perhaps the most important chess event hosted by Montreal was the final leg of the 1894 World Chess Championship, between Emmanuel Lasker and William Steinitz, in celebration of the MCC's 50th anniversary.
Steinitz had dominated chess for decades, yet by the time the two arrived in Montreal, the young Lasker was firmly in command. Lasker shocked the world when, on May 26, he was crowned the undisputed World Chess Champion, a position he would hold for the next 27 years.
While Lasker and Steinitz may have played the greatest match on Canadian soil, the legendary American chess player Frank Marshall was arguably the greatest chess mind ever produced in the country. Marshall moved to Montreal when he was 8 years old and would call the city his home for the next 11 years.
He took up chess soon after arriving, and before long was the top player at the Hope Coffee House, a chess hot spot at the time. He then joined the MCC, where he established himself as one of the best players in the world. He went on to become the U.S. Chess Champion and, in 1915, founded the Marshall Chess Club in New York City. It was at the Marshall Chess Club where Bobby Fischer played many of his early games, including what has become known as "The Game of the Century" in October 1956.
A few months earlier, a then 13-year-old Fischer arrived in Montreal to participate in the inaugural Canadian Open. Fischer would return to Montreal in 1964, where he demonstrated his skill by playing against 56 chess experts from across the province all at the same time.
Fischer won the World Chess Championship in 1972, which resulted in an increase of chess popularity across North America. The resulting Fischer boom reverberated across the entire city, especially among francophones.
"Chess hadn't been part of the French community before 1972. The editor of La Presse at the time was Roger Lemelin. He was a chess player and was in a unique position to do something about it. La Presse started to sponsor all kinds of chess tournaments," said Larry Bevand, founder and executive director of the Chess'n Math Association.
Founded in 1985, the Chess'n Math Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing chess into Canadian schools. The organization runs hundreds of tournaments for kids from kindergarten to Grade 12 across Canada. "Chess is more popular then ever, especially within the kid market because parents want their children to get away from the computer and use their heads," Bevand said.
Its headquarters at Sherbrooke and St. Denis Sts. is the only building in Canada owned entirely by a chess organization. Bevand attributes Montreal's relatively low cost of living as one reason why chess is so popular here.
"I think it's the (reason) why the arts are so popular in Montreal. Rents are low and people can survive on less money. It's much easier for us to find teachers in Montreal than Toronto or Ottawa because people don't need as much money to live so they can afford to pursue their interests rather than have to go out and make a decent living."
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